Disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2011-136541 is a battery operated chainsaw of the type which comprises a body housing, an elongated guide bar projecting forward from the body housing, a saw-chain mounted to the periphery of the guide bar, and an electric motor driving the saw-chain along the guide bar. The body housing is provided at its rear portion with a detachable battery pack for supply of electric power to the motor. The chainsaw is provided with a top handle located on the upper portion of the body housing and extending in a fore-and-aft direction above the guide bar, and a front handle across the top handle and extending in a left-and-right direction. The top handle is provided at its interim portion with a gripe portion to be grasped by an operator and with a trigger switch located under the gripe portion.
In use of the chainsaw, an operator grasps the top handle by his right hand and holds the front handle by his left hand. When the trigger switch is operated by the right hand of the operator to activate the electric motor, the saw-chain is driven by operation of the motor for rotation around the guide bar and is brought into contact with the log for cutting.
In the chainsaw, the electric motor is supplied with electric power from the single battery pack mounted to the rear portion of the body housing. The battery pack is, in general, in the form of a large size battery pack of high voltage (for instance, 36V) for driving the high power motor. The large size battery pack of high voltage is, however, expensive and limited only for use in the chainsaw. In other words, the large size battery pack may not be used as a source of electricity for other work apparatus such as electric power tools. In this respect, it is assumed to utilize a plurality of small size battery packs adapted for use in electric power tools as the source of power supply for chainsaws in order to avoid necessity for having various kinds of battery packs. However, if the battery packs were not mounted on an appropriate place of the body housing, the chainsaw would be inclined in a left-and-right direction to deteriorate operability of the chainsaw. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a battery operated chainsaw superior in operability, in which a plurality of small size batteries are used as a source of power supply.